Ornamental ring



Nov. 28, 1939.

L. CHICKERING ORNAMENTAL RING Filed July 9, 1938 I INVENTOR.

Wow WM ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 28, 1939 2,181,507 ORNAMENTALRINGV Louis Chickering,Cincinnati, ohio Application July 9, 1928, Serial No. 218,331

2 Claims. (01. 63-15) 1 This invention relates to finger rings and othersimilar articles of personal ornamentation and has particular referenceto a ring or the like, in which a photograph is utilized as one of theprincipal ornamental features.

Although the invention is equally applicable to various other articlessuch as brooches, pins, badges, umbrella heads, or the like, thepreferred embodiment is concerned with finger rings and is soillustrated in the attached drawing and cle scribed in the ensuingspecification.

In the manufacture-of rings utilizing a photograph as the principalelement of ornamentation there have been two distinct methods ofmanufacture, due to the fact that such rings are at times sold by mailorder through the medium of advertisements and catalogues and themanufacturer has a substantial period of time within which to fabricatethering for the particular customer after the order has been received. Aring construction of this type is disclosed in the patent to Lesmeister,No. 2,003,376. Rings of this general type are also sold at five andtencent stores, or sidewalk booths at fairs, expositions, and the like.In order to sell the rings under these circumstances, it is necessary toprovide a structure which can be completely fabricated within a space ofa few minutes. A construction of this type is illustrated in the patentto Grant, No. 2,057,484.

The construction of the present invention lends itself equally well toeither of the above methods of selling. Rings embodying the presentinventions may be manufactured at leisure by the use of one method, orwithin the space of but a few minutes by the use of a second method,both methods being hereinafter described and illustrated. Regardless ofwhich method of manufacture is employed, the resulting products aresubstantially identical with one another.

One of the objectives of the present invention has been to provide aring in which a photograph is positioned below an inexpensive buteffective lens at substantially the focal point of rays passing throughthe lens. 4

A second object has been to provide a ring of the type described inwhich the photograph is positioned substantially below the outer surfaceof the ring and is completely protected by a frame of a depth which issubstantial in relation to the size of the photograph, thereby givingdepth to the visual appearance of the photograph by the exclusion ofrays of light which would normally enter from the sides.

A third object has been to provode a photographic ring in which theappearance of the NE'E'ED photograph is enhanced by its positioning atsub- 1 stantially the focal point of rays of light passing through apiano convex lens which is placed substantially above the photograph.Otherwise stated," the object has been to provide a photographic ring inwhich the photograph has been given depth and perspective by apositioning beneath a lens and at the rear of a frame enclosure.

A further object of the invention has been to provide a ring of the typeindicated whichmay be quickly and inexpensively manufactured by one oftwo different methods, dependingon the circumstances underwhich it iscontemplated the ring will. be sold.

A fifth object'has been to provide methods of manufacturefwhich willproduce improved rings of the type of the inventionquickly andinexpensively. I

ther purposes and objects will be apparent from the ensuing descriptionwhen considered in conjunction with. the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a completed ringof the type of theinvention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation in which the various elements utilized inone of the preferred methods of manufacture are individuallyillustrated.

Figures 3, 4, and 5 illustrate successive steps of the same methodillustrated in Figure 2 Figure (iisv a front elevation of a ring blanknecessary to the practice of the second preferred method of theinvention.

Figure 7-is a cross-section taken on line ll of Figure 6 and is aviewsimilar to Figure 2, except that the elementsillustrated in Figure'7 are ap lustrated in Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5, the ring is made up ofthe following parts. i

A ring blank manufactured from Celluloid,

hardrubber, or practically any type of plastic the exact size of thephotograph provides a covering for the photograph.

The frame indicated at 5 may be formed of cover 4, provides a closuremember for the entire assembly when the parts are secured together, asdescribed in the following paragraphs.

In the manufacture of a ring of the type of the invention in accordancewith the method illustrated in Figures 2 to 5 inclusive, the photograph2 is first secured to the ring blank I at a central point on the broadflat surface 3. This may be done by any desired type of adhesive. Thecover 4 is then lightly placed on top of the 30 photograph so that itcompletely covers the same,

and the frame 5 is then adhesively secured to the surface 3, so that itwill encircle the photograph and cover 4. It may also be adhesivelysecured to the cover 4, which completely fills the frame opening. Thecovershould preferably be identical in size with the frame opening, sothat when the frame is placed over it, it will adhere by friction to theinner surface of the sides of the frame opening. The purpose of thecover 4 is to protect the photograph from the spread of adhesive used insecuring the photograph and the frame to the ring blank. In the actualpractice of this method a slight amount of adhesive will usually adhereto the sides of the cover, thus aiding in the securance of the cover tothe inner sides of the cut-out portion of the frame. The transparentouter covering 6 is then adhesively secured to the upper surface of theframe and the entire structure at this point in the manufacture appearsas indicated in Figure 3. Next, the adhesive is permitted to dry and theedges of the frame are buffed and polished, as indicated in Figure 4, toform a lens of plano convex structure, for example, on the outer surfaceof the finished article. If the frame is formed from a laminated plasticsuch as that illustrated, in the finished structure after the buffingand polishing an outline of color contrasting with that of the uppersurface will appear and will effectively set off the picture in themanner illustrated in Figure 1.

In the completed structure, as illustrated in the sectional view, Figure5, the photograph 2 is positioned below, and spaced from the lens. Thislens is formed from the transparent covering member 6 so that the lensfunctions both as a covering over, and a magnifier of the picture. Byvirtue of this construction the lens also acts to collect light andfocus it upon the photograph so that the effect of an illuminatedphotograph is obtained. In this manner, although the photograph isrecessed below the lens, the details are sharp and distinct. Moreover,by virtue of the spacing of the lens from the picture, the details ofthe photograph appear in truer perspective and a pleasing threedimensional effect is obtained. Thus, the cover over the picture is soarranged in respect to it that the picture is protected. Theconfiguration of the cover provides a pleasing appearance in the ringstructure, and

7 might be desired in an article of this sort.

the lens configuration accentuates the lighting of the photograph.

The air space 8 is not absolutely necessary to the invention, but it hasbeen found that a substantial depth of a plastic such as Celluloid, madein accordance with present methods of manufacture, is not as clearlytransparent as The cover 4 may also be omitted, provided great care isused in the handling of the adhesive, although it has been found to be avery useful adjunct in the case of quantity manufacture.

In the practice of the second preferred method illustrated in Figures 6,7, and 8, it is necessary for the retail outlet disposing of the ringsto have on hand, already prepared, a quantity of ring blanks of the typeillustrated in Figures 6 and 7. ,Such blanks should have a rear opening9 in the periphery of the ring of substantially the same size as thephotograph which is to be inserted. The photograph is taken, developed,and reduced to size within a few minutes, and the cover 4, photograph 2,and the plate I0 are then successively inserted in the preformed blankthrough the rear opening 9. If desired, the picture may have been firstadhesively secured to the inner surface of the plate and the sides ofthe cover and the plate may also be adhesively secured to the sides ofthe respective openings in the frame and the ring periphery.

The completed structure, as shown in Figure 8, is a substantialduplicate of that illustrated in Figure 5.

Although the description throughout has dealt only with photographs, itis, of course, obvious that the invention is equally applicable to otherornamental designs such as lodge emblems, fanciful designs or the like.

Having fully described my invention, I desire to be limited only by theensuing claims:

1. A finger ring comprising a ring blank having a flattened portion onthe outer surface thereof, a photograph superimposed above saidflattened portion, a transparent cover positioned on the photograph, aframe portion confining said photograph and cover and a lens secured tothe frame portion and positioned above the photograph and the outersurface of the cover.

2. The method of making a finger ring which comprises mounting aphotograph or other orna- 1 mental design on the outer surface of apreformed ring blank, affixing a frame portion to the ring blank aroundthe photograph, securing a piece of transparent plastic cover materialto the outer surface of the frame portion and grinding the surface ofsaid transparent material to form a piano-convex lens.

3. The method of making a photographic ring, said method comprising,mounting a photograph on a flattened surface on a ring blank preformedfrom a mouldable material, placing a transparent cover over thephotograph, encircling the photograph and cover with a frame, affixingthe frame to the ring blank, securing a transparent plastic sheet to theouter surface of the frame, grinding the transparent sheet to form alens above the photograph.

LOUIS CHICKERING.

